Aakash Chopra reacts to Michael Vaughan naming Ben Duckett as best all-format player
Aakash Chopra named two cricketers who could stake a claim to be called the best all-format players in modern-day cricket instead of Ben Duckett.
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After Ben Duckett scored a fantastic century in the Leeds Test against India to help England chase down a 371-run target in the fourth innings, Michael Vaughan described the southpaw as the best all-format cricketer currently. Duckett is averaging 43.68, 49, and 29.28 in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is, respectively. He has done exceptionally well for England across the three formats in recent years.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra also applauded Duckett's abilities as a batter across formats, but he opined that the Farnborough-born has not yet played Test cricket in Australia and has limited appearances in South Africa. While Duckett did score a century on England's Test tour of India in 2024, Chopra wasn't too impressed with his overall performance in the cricket-crazy nation.
"I agree, among the current players, who are playing all three formats, he stands out. If you look at his stats over the last two years, he has been quite outstanding in all three formats. But there is a caveat," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"He hasn't gone to Australia to play Test cricket. He has just played three innings in South Africa. His performance was quite limited in India," he added.
Instead, Chopra mentioned Travis Head's name as someone who has put in stellar performances across formats in the last couple of years, especially in high-pressure matches like the World Test Championship (WTC) and the ODI World Cup finals in 2023.
"Maybe Pakistan is good, but in other places, his performances haven't been that great. It is not a straightforward, done-and-dusted story. He has been good in all formats in the last two years. You need to look at Travis Head, he has also had a smashing last couple of years," said Chopra.
"He has a knack for standing up in big matches. Look at the 2023 WTC final and the 2023 ODI World Cup final. If you do man-to-man marking, the stats of both are the same. In my opinion, Travis Head is ahead of him slightly," he added.
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Chopra also dropped Yashasvi Jaiswal's name in the conversation for the best all-format player. The cricketer-turned-commentator said that the Mumbai batter is someone who could be in the conversation for the best all-format player once he gets more ODI appearances under his belt.
"Somebody like Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has the capability of playing all three formats, hasn't played ODIs. He hasn't gotten much of a chance in T20Is," said Chopra.
"As he plays all three formats, he is one player who can challenge the hegemony. For 'Bazball', there is 'Jaisball'," he added.
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